The crew of the Canadian airline, along with six passengers, are at risk of returning to prison in the Dominican Republic after a month-long saga that began with the discovery of significant amounts of cocaine on a plane traveling to Toronto, the company said.
In a letter to Foreign Secretary Melanie Jolie received by CTV News on Wednesday, Pivot Airlines CEO Eric Edmundson expressed terrible concern over the five members of the airline’s crew who have been stranded in the Dominican Republic since April 5.
Their arrest was prompted by the discovery of more than 200 kilograms of cocaine on a plane bound for Toronto while on the ground at Punta Cana airport. Despite the immediate release of the drugs, the five crew members, along with six passengers, were arrested and detained.
“For more than 27 days, our Canadian summer crew has been threatened with life, inhuman treatment and arbitrary detention in the Dominican Republic,” Edmundson said. “We are deeply concerned for their safety as they remain in the Dominican Republic and are at immediate risk of being detained in prison.”
Provided the crew members remained in the Dominican Republic until the issue was resolved, they were released on bail last month, which Edmundson said the airline had provided a $ 100,000 bail. However, the court battle did not end there.
“In a shocking move, the prosecutor recently filed an appeal against the court’s decision to provide bail to our crew, although there is no evidence to link them to a crime. We expect the appeal to be heard by the court this week,” he said.
Britney Wojciech-Harrison was a passenger on a Pivot Airlines flight to Toronto, her family says. (GoFundMe)
If he succeeds, the crew may be forced to return to the Dominican prison. As it was widely reported that Pivot crew members had warned authorities about drugs on their plane, Edmundson said putting them in jail along with alleged criminals would put them at serious risk.
“They are worried that returning to the Dominican prison will be a one-way trip,” he said.
The Canadian Civil Service Union (CUPE) expressed serious concern earlier this week about the length of time crew members they represent could stay abroad.
“Without being charged with a crime, they are now forced to stay in the Dominican Republic pending an investigation and trial that could take up to 12 months,” said CUPE national president Mark Hancock and national treasurer secretary Candice Renick in separate letter to Jolie.
For the second time, Pivot Airlines warns Canadians to travel to the Dominican Republic.
“If reporting a crime in the Dominican Republic could lead to arbitrary detention, the government should seriously consider issuing such a travel advice,” Edmundson said.
WHO IS STAYING?
CUPE told CTV News Toronto the names of two of the crew members stranded in the Dominican Republic: Christine Carello and Alexander Rozov.
They are among a five-member crew that included two flight attendants, two pilots and a mechanic. The names of the other crew are currently unknown.
One of the six passengers on board the flight to Toronto was a Calgary photographer named Britney Wojciech-Harrison.
Family members told CTV News Calgary that Wojciech-Harrison had been invited to join a group of friends who chartered a small plane to the Dominican Republic in late March.
“We really want to bring them home, not just my niece, but definitely everyone,” Karen Harrison, Britney’s aunt, told CTV News Calgary. “We are very worried about their well-being down there.
Add Comment